Why Market Research Matters

We’re all affected by market research – whether it’s a new product you bought or a service you tried, many things available in the marketplace have been influenced by people who have done their research…

Your Opinions are Worth More Than You Think

cubesSigning up with a Market Research firm in the UK can be a fun and easy way to earn some great rewards, and also make a difference in the continuing development of new products and services. The results derived from this research can affect both local and international products as today most firms have offices around the globe.

Influence
Market research is simply companies asking consumers for their opinions, and then using the feedback to improve upon new or existing products. Companies want to present their products in their best light and sometimes don’t know the missing puzzle piece that makes consumers choose a similar product from their competitor. By participating in online surveys, consumers can recommend ideas for better products which benefits everyone.

Targeting Demographics
The benefit of online market research for businesses is the wide range of participants they can target. As most UK market research companies also have offices worldwide, inquisitive companies can receive feedback from international respondents. This can help them expand their product into the global markets.

On the other hand, if a company would like to know what specific groups think of their products they can narrow the demographic of their respondents through profiling questions. For instance, a company making dog food interested in marketing to young families could easily ask for opinions from only pet owners with children in a certain age group. All these questions would filter the respondents to the target group, and those who fail to qualify are often still rewarded for taking the time to answer those first few questions.

All information given to these legitimate companies is kept safe and secure. The information from each respondent is compiled with everyone else’s data and sent in a combined form that keeps the companies from determining individual responses. The data is also sent in an encrypted format to prevent anyone else online from accessing this information.

Earning Compensation
Since this feedback is quite valuable to these various businesses and services, they are often willing to offer payment in exchange for the information they gather. In order to keep payments fair and equal across the different countries they collect data from, most companies pay in “points” that accrue in each researchers online account. These points can then be exchanged for cash, prizes, gift cards and even donations to charity. So even if the research is for a UK market research company, UK residents would still receive points instead of direct money. The gift cards could be for online or international stores, or perhaps there would be an option to redeem for a local grocery store.

Other Forms of Research
Market research can come in many different forms. Besides online surveys, some companies still offer traditional methods such as research by post or telephone. A newer method of research is enlisting to take surveys via mobile phone, a convenient way to earn some money while taking the train to work, for instance. Other options include focus groups, where members meet in person in a group setting to analyze products and discuss their opinions, and also at home testing. Consumers are sent products to use at home, then asked to give their feedback and in many cases are paid a reward in addition to being able to keep whichever product they were testing.

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